Well-drilling device



J. D. MORRISON.

WELL DRILLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22, 1919.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.,

In van for, J E. Morrison JAMES D. MORRISON, OF REINBEGK, IOWA.

wELL-DEILLING DEVICE.

Specication of. Letters Patent.

Patented' Apr. 27, 1920.`

Application led August .22, 1919. Serial No. 319,170.

To all whom t may concern: Be it known that I, JAMES D. MoRnIsoN, acitizen of the United Statesr of America,

and a resident of Reinbeck, Grundy county, A

Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Well-,DrillinDevices, of.

which the following is a spec` cation.

lMy invention relates to improvements in e rotary well drilling'devices,and particularly to the` meansl used in excavating oil and.

gas wells. a

The object sought to be attained in the employment of m improved deviceis to l secure reliable in ications of the presence of oil or gasbearing strata while' being traversed by the boring-tools, in advance ofthe administration by the device of sealing material to the porous wallof the wellbore.

I have accomplished the above object .by the means which are hereinafterdescrlbed and claimed, and which are illustrated 1n the accompanyingdrawings, in which tion.

Figure -1 is a central vertical longitudinal section of a well-borercontaining my im- X proved drilling-device also in like section,

with parts of both broken away; Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section ofthe outer tubular conduit and the contained tubular filter of thedevice, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the main or followerboring-tool.

In said drawings, similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts'throughout the several views.

The main boring-tool 4 ot my device 4and its jointed sectionalsupporting and operatopen upper end of the rotatable tube 1,

ltraverses thepassages 5. and is discharged infront of each cutter,where it sweeps the 'detritus of material as fast as excavated andcarries it upwardly past the cutters, which are diametrically wider thansaid tube, and

`through ther annular .nterspace of the tube and the wall of the bore 7to the open upper end of the latter for inal discharge, While -therelsubject to inspection and examination.

As the wall of the borev 7, in different geological strata, andespecially in certain geographical regions, is often porous and veryfriable so as to quickly become -permeated by and fall apart under theaction of a passing stream of water, it has, in such cases, become usualand necessary to fill the water pores with a finely comminutedcalcareous material by pumping it under considerable head' into the tube1 while the latter is being rotated by means of suitable mechanism and areleasable rotary clamping-device not shown. Such a solution, in whichthe water is impregnated to its full capacity,has little or no scouringor abrasive efect while passing' upwardly under head along the wall ofthe bore, but on the other hand, gives up some of its calcareouscontents to the porous wall, silting up or sealing the ores in the wallfor a distance and thuse ectively preventing disintegration of the walland collapse ofhe same, filling the bore and ruiningthe we This sealingbore'wall, While advantageous, is subject to the following disadvantagein the prospecting for oil, water or gas. As the boring-tool up of theporosities of the l traverses such a stratum, the fine particles ofcalcareous substance in solution in filling the superficial pores of thebore wall, also so close them as to often render them impermeable to theoil, gas or water which would otherwise issue in suilicient amount to beeasily distinguishable, with the exhaust water ejected at the mouth ofthe bore, permitting timely steps to be taken relative thereto.

My im roved device is o erable and effective for t e preservation o bothsaid useful but opposed advantages.

In my combined device, the cutter-body susy or tool 4, hereinaftertermed the follower, is

preceded by ya channeled -cutter 12 of less diameter adapted to form anexploratory borein' advance of the excavatory action of the follower.The tool 12 has its body 10 exteriorly threaded to be received in theinteriorly-threaded lower end of an imperiorate tube 9 which is of lessdiameter than Y said bore. The channel 11 in the body 10 permits passageof water through the tool and thence upwardly to the main bore 7 to bedischar ed with the exhaust water leaving the fo lower 4. The upper endof the tubular section is threaded, traversing and secured in thethreaded central opening of the body to project thereabove, and isconnected by a'coupling-sleeve' to other like sections above, within andconcentricallyspaced from the inner wall of the tube 1. he upper sectionor sections 14 of the tube 9 1s closed at its upper end by a threadedstop 20, while it has numerous small perforations 15. Surrounding thisperforated or foraminated part 14 is a tubular filter closely fittedtherearound and comprising next the tube a netted wire cover 16, thisbeing covered with a layer of cloth 17, and this by a covering sleeve 18of metal provided with numerous small orifices 19. l

In the operation of my device, when water fully impregnated with clay orthe like, 1s forced into the rotating tube 1 under head, part of itpasses by the filter without permeating it, traveling. to the follower4, vand thence, returning upwardly through the bore 7, depositing someof its contents in silting up the bore wall as above described. Anotherpart, however, traverses' the filter, passes down the tube 14-9, and thecutter 10--12, issuing and moving upwardlyalong the walls of the smallerbore to thence pass into the larger bore above.

As the filtered water when delivered to the tool 12, 4contains nothingin solution which could seal up the pores in the wall of saidsmall bore,any oil issuing is taken up and accordingly appears .at the top'of thewell, for instant recognition. The operation of the boring device maythen be stopped, but if the operation is preferably continued, the wholebore above the followerl willv nevertheless have its wall sealed by theaction of the impregnated exhaust water.

Various changes may be effected inthe elements and relations thereof toeach other in accomplishing the aforesaid desired results, withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention.`

Having .described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In apparatus of the character described, longitudinall spaced rotaryboring devices, each device aving a passage for a liquid positioned tocarry the liquid to the excavating part and thence to a dischargingchannel, the entrances of the passages in said devices being isolatedfrom each other.

2. In apparatus of the character described,

longitudinally'spaced rotar boring devices of different diameters, eacfidevice having a passage for a liquid positioned to carry the lilguidstothe excavating part and thence to' t at by sald excavating part, andmeans for isoart of the bore particularly formed lating .the entrancesof said passageslinA said devices from. each other.

3.- In apparatus of the character described,

longitudinally spaced coaxial rotary boring devices of which thepreceding one is of less diameter than the following device, and meansfor carrying fluidsof different character independently to said devices.

4. In apparatus of the character described, coaxial channeled rotaryboring and flushing devices positioned for differential boringoperations, and detachably connected for simultaneous coaction.

5. 'In apparatus of the character described,

coaxial channeled rotary boring devices detachably connected forsimultaneous coaction, and separated means for carryin fiuids coaxialchanneled rotary boring devices, de-l tachably connected, and arrangedto operate simultaneously in producing communicating' bores of differentdiameters, a filter, a conduit conveying an unfiltered liquid to saidfilter and to the following device only, and

a conduit leading from said filter to deliver to the preceding deviceonly. y

8. yInapparatus of the character described, a rotatable tube, achanneled follower bore ing-tool removably mounted in and closing oneend of said tube and also having a central opening, a channeled precedinboring-tool of less diametercoaxial with t e follower boring-tool, atubular conduit in one end of which the preceding boring-tool isremovably mounted and which is secured in and traverses the opening inthe follower boring-tool, a tubular filter in the said rotatable tubeabove both boring-tools and in communication with said tubular conduit,said filter adapted to strain part of an unfiltered liquid traversingsaid tubev toward the follower boring-tool, and to deliver the filteredliquid to said preceding boring-tool only.

9. In combination, a rotary main excavating device containing a fiuidcirculatory y circulatory system, said systems being adapted to carryfiuids of different character separately to the excavating elements ofsald devices and thence to the walls of the cavities formed by therespective devices.

1Q. The method of treating the wall of a borlng 1nto the crust of theearth, which lconsists in subjecting that part `of the wall whichextends a relatively short distance above the lower end of the boringwhile being progressively excavated to a fluid application operating tokeep the porosities ofthat part only of the wall open, and followingthis operation, by progressively subjecting this treated part in thewall to a fluid application operating to close said porosties.

11. The method of treating the Wall of a boring into the crust of theearth, which consists in subjecting that part of the Wall which extendsa relatively short distance above the lower end of the boring whilebeing progressively excavated to a non-pore filling liquid, andsimultaneously subjecting that part of the wall which is above saidfirst-mentioned part to the action of a poreilling liquid.

Signed at lVaterloo, Iowa, this 19th day of August, 1919.

JAMES D. MORRISON.

